E.Box on display: a hands-on experience

Etoile’s phone booth takes center stage in the new Sant’Ippolito showroom

At the Sant’Ippolito facility, Etoile’s new showroom is not just an exhibition space, but a full-scale laboratory. Here, E.Box, the collection of modular acoustic booths, is presented in its built, fully accessible form. For designers, this approach makes it easier to engage with the product. It is no longer an abstract idea: you can step inside, listen, and touch.
The experience becomes a key factor in decision-making, turning concepts that would otherwise remain on paper into tangible reality.

Variable acoustics

E.Box is based on a simple principle: interchangeable panels made of recycled PET, fixed to the structure with patented clips. Designers can adjust the number, size, and position of the panels, changing the internal sound absorption level. More sound-absorbing surface means less reverberation; fewer panels—leaving more glass and aluminum exposed—create a brighter acoustic environment, ideal for recordings or podcasts where clear speech intelligibility is essential.

Acoustic curtains along the glass walls further reduce background noise and help control visual privacy. The user can customize the setup according to use: a private call, a brainstorming session, or focused individual work.

Transparency as continuity

E.Box is designed to keep spaces open and connected. Its laminated glass panels, available in single or double layers, preserve the visual continuity of the layout and avoid the closed feeling of traditional booths. Natural light can pass through, reaching even the heart of the open space.

Slim aluminum profiles and flush joints keep the structure light and discreet. The booth fits naturally into the environment without standing out.
When equipped with writable glass, the walls become a surface for notes, sketches, and diagrams, making E.Box a functional workspace, not just a quiet retreat.

Technical ceiling

The ceiling integrates a controlled mechanical ventilation system with a CO₂ sensor, which adjusts air exchange based on occupancy and indoor air quality. Low-noise fans ensure acoustic comfort. LED lighting is dimmable and features adjustable color temperature: warm light for a more relaxed atmosphere, cooler light for visual focus.
All cabling runs through integrated channels, with power outlets on the walls or vertical profiles. No visible cables—laptops and monitors are powered directly.

Canopy system

E.Box goes beyond the booth itself. With the Canopy structural system, modular profiles connect multiple booths and support suspended shelves, vertical acoustic panels, and writing surfaces. The area around the phone booth can be used as a waiting area, an informal workspace, or to define different zones. The booth is not an isolated element, but a node within a larger, connected system.

Touch to decide

The Sant’Ippolito showroom offers something no technical sheet can: a sensory experience. Designers can step inside, experience the noise reduction, check air quality, evaluate the lighting, and touch the PET panels to feel their texture and strength. They can test the ergonomics of the adjustable desk and see how the writable glass performs under natural and artificial light.

This hands-on experience speeds up decision-making. It reduces the gap between design and the built reality. The booth stops being just a catalog product and becomes a design tool, with clear understanding of its performance, limits, and real-world uses.

From object to system

E.Box does more than solve acoustic issues. It helps open spaces manage privacy, focus, and transitions. Each booth acts as a control point for sound and sight. It doesn’t close off the space—it complements it. It offers options, protects private activities, and brings back the value of quiet.

The Sant’Ippolito showroom shows the process: from reading technical sheets to experiencing the product in 3D, from abstract decisions to hands-on confirmation. In architecture, what matters most is how a space actually works when it’s used.